Taliban

The Taliban is an Islamist political movement in Afghanistann that held power in the country from 1996 to 2001 as the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan". It enforced a strict interpretation of sharia law in the country and welcomed terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan into the country, leading to the United States' invasion of the country in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban government was overthrown, but the Taliban fought against the occupying NATO forces for over fifteen years in a campaign of guerrilla warfare and terrorist attacks.

History
The Taliban was founded in 1994 as a Deobandi Sunni Muslim militia by Mullah Mohammed Omar during the Afghan Civil War, being formed out of former Mujahideen fighters who were veterans of the previous Soviet-Afghan War. It was mostly a collection of militia groups beforehand, but in 1994 it was united when it captured Kandahar, which became their spiritual center and de facto capital. Gaining the support of the Afghan people against the corrupt and cruel Mujahideen leaders of the Northern Alliance, the Taliban were backed by Pakistan after Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin performed poorly in the war with the Junbish-i-Milli and Jamiat-e-Islami militias. The Taliban was composed almost entirely of Pashtuns, and the Pashtun-majority Pakistan decided to send Inter-Services Intelligence forces to assist the Taliban in their takeover of the country. As many as 30,000 Pakistani nationals were fighting for the Taliban by 2001, and the Taliban were able to seize the capital of Kabul in 1996. This move allowed for them to declare the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which ruled most of the country.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was recognized only by Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, all countries with strict Islamic laws. Under the Taliban, sharia law was enforced and they massacred civilians, burnt fertile land and destroyed thousands of homes, denied the United Nations access to 160,000 starving people, performed public executions of disobedient women and political dissidents, and allowed for Islamist groups such as al-Qaeda, East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, and Hezb-i-Islami Gulbuddin to have sanctuary and training camps in his country. In 2001, al-Qaeda was responsible for the 9/11 attacks against the United States, resulting in President George W. Bush demanding that the Taliban hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and other terrorist leaders for trial. Omar refused, so the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada mounted an invasion in coordination with a Northern Alliance counterattack. From 7 October to December, the NATO coalition bombed the Taliban and took over Kabul, Kandahar, and all of the major cities. The Taliban government was overthrown, but the US failed to capture Osama or Omar in the Battle of Tora Bora, allowing for many terrorist leaders to find a new home in the tribal belt of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan and conduct intense guerrilla warfare against the Americans. In addition, they launched suicide bombings, shootings, and car bombings against the new force of international troops sent to occupy the country and against the Afghan National Army of Hamid Karzai's new government. The new government of Afghanistan was a moderate government that included the former Northern Alliance's leaders and included not only Sunnis and Pashtuns, but also Shi'ite Hazaras, Tajiks, Uzbeks, Persians, and other groups.

From 2001 onwards, the Taliban carried out an insurgency against the American, Afghan government, British, and other NATO forces sent to keep the peace in the country as Karzai's regime consolidated its power. However, the Karzai government was corrupt, and the Taliban gained support among the Pashtun tribes of the region. In addition, imported fighters from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkestan, and other Muslim regions assisted the Taliban insurgency, with al-Qaeda continuing to operate in Afghanistan. After the American withdrawal in 2014, the Taliban briefly succeeded in making a comeback, and in 2015 the Taliban briefly recaptured the city of Kunduz in addition to launching offensives against the government in Helmand Province. Akhtar Mansoor's leadership of the Taliban after 2013 saw the Taliban be stronger than in previous years, but they faced a new threat from the Islamic State, which appeared in Afghanistan and gained the support of the IMU in fighting against the Taliban and the government to establish a state ruled by even stricter sharia laws.